


Worn

by Faiz



Category: The Almighty Johnsons
Genre: Gen, prompts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-12
Updated: 2013-11-12
Packaged: 2018-01-01 07:57:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1042309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Faiz/pseuds/Faiz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A prompt from the lovely Aramirandme81's fic "One Word At a Time", she allowed me to expand on one of her prompts!</p><p>The prompt was: "Dawn had bought Anders a pair of blue and white chequered cotton pj’s the first year they’d know each other. Years later while he had been drunk as a skunk Anders had confessed that he still had it but only wore it when he was feeling alone and forgotten. Which is what makes Dawn tear up when she finds the thing and it’s so worn it’s nearly in pieces."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Worn

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Aramirandme81](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aramirandme81/gifts).



It had been a simple gift really, if Dawn remembered correctly. Just a pair of pajamas that she had picked up on sale from a store on her way to work. She only did it because after going to Anders' house a few times, she realized that the blond man didn't really have any proper pajamas to his name. It was an absolutely silly thing to worry about, but the nights were getting colder and she knew Anders would still be wearing shorts and a t-shirt. So she had bought him blue and white checkered pajamas for him to wear. They were very simple, and not very expensive at all either. But the cotton was soft to the touch and should work well for Anders. 

He hadn't said anything when she handed him the plastic bag that contained the pajamas, but after he thought she wasn't looking, she saw him finger the fabric delicately with a small smile on his face. She smiled to herself when she saw that. Because even with all the eccentricities that came with working with Anders, this was the first time she had seen a proper genuine smile on his face. It may have been a small one, but it still made Dawn's heart swell in pride. She hoped that he'd actually get some pretty good use out of them, even if they weren't the most flattering of pajamas.

In all honesty, she had completely forgotten she had given him those pajamas. The first time they were mentioned besides when she had bought them for him was nearly 4 years after she had gotten them. It was during one of their 'slumber parties' (in all actuality it was just Anders deciding he was bored and invading Dawn's home for the night for childish entertainment) and Anders had probably had one too many drinks. They had been watching some crappy romantic comedy where they'd make snide remarks over nearly every line uttered (a timeless tradition for them ever since Anders had decided to tag along to Dawn's house for the first time) and Anders' voice was slowly growing more and more slurred as time went on. Dawn herself was only a little bit tipsy, enough to be red in the face and giggling about nearly everything.

But with most slumber parties, it reached that point where things suddenly went down a serious road. Anders had a pensive look on his face suddenly replacing the goofy grin that he had had only a few seconds ago, and he tapped Dawn on the leg repeatedly from his spot on the ground where he had been lying on his stomach until she finally turned down to look at him. "What is it Anders?"

"Y'know....Y'know those pajamas you got me? Like a really long time ago?" He asked, words slurring together.

Dawn paused for a moment, thinking. It was then that vague memories of checkered pajamas invaded her thoughts and she nodded. "You still have those old things? I didn't think they'd last that long. They were on the sales rack when I bought them."

Anders shrugged, and rolled over to face the ceiling from his spot on the ground. "Well...I only wear th'm when I feel...lonely. Or forgotten." He closed his eyes and nodded.

That nearly broke Dawn's heart in half. "Oh...Well, I'm glad you put them to good use Anders." 

He didn't respond. He had fallen asleep on the floor, his chest rising and falling rhythmically. She watched him for a few moments with a slightly worried look in her eyes, but she got up to grab a pillow and a blanket for Anders, who she was sure probably wasn't going to wake up for awhile. The entire time she grabbing the previously stated items and throwing the blanket over Anders and the pillow under his head she was thinking about what he had drunkenly told her. The fact that those pajamas seemed to be his crutch for when he was feeling lonely made Dawn feel somewhat sad. She rarely ever saw Anders with a frown on his face, so the idea of him feeling lonely enough to need something to cling onto, like a pair of pajamas was positively heart-wrenching. It just wasn't something she had thought Anders would feel. From that day forward, Dawn had quickly learned to read Anders emotions to minute details, and she probably could tell how he was feeling better than any of his brothers.

It had been 2 years after that event that the pajamas were brought up again, but not vocally. It had been a few months after Anders' brothers had suddenly reappeared in his life with full force, and that glee of having them back had quickly disappeared after the first few weeks. She could see that Anders looked much more tired and less happy. He was constantly being called out for 'family things' only to return back to work in a worse mood than he had been before. He had been called out again by a very angry looking Mike, and Anders had called out to her before he left telling her to feed his fish when she was done with work. She just sighed at that, and hastily packed up her things so she could quickly drive over to Anders' flat to feed his fish.

When she arrives, she notices that the couch is strewn with clothing. Anders probably hadn't been cleaning again, she mused as she sprinkled some flakes over the water in the tank. She watched the fish crowd around the flakes eating them hungrily for a few moments before she turned back to look at the mess on the couch. Anders was usually a fairly clean guy, unless something had taken a toll on his mood. That was when he just gave up on cleaning entirely. She checked her watch before shrugging, moving to the couch and began picking up some of the clothing. She had extra time to kill before she met up with some of her friends.

She noticed quickly that all of the clothes were actually clean, so Anders must have at least done some laundry that he didn't bother putting away. She wondered if one of his brothers ended up calling while he was getting his load of laundry that just caused him to chuck all the clothes onto the couch. After picking up and folding a pair of jeans neatly, she noticed a piece of very worn checkered fabric sticking out from under a pillow on the couch. She tugged on it, revealing the old bottoms of the cheap pajamas that she had bought him nearly six years ago. The fabric was worn thin, nearly see-through in some places and there were a lot of holes covering the fabric. The stitching of the left leg was torn nearly completely apart, save for the top part that still managed to keep the pants from falling apart. She found the shirt as well, and found it to be in nearly the same shape as the bottoms.

He still had them after all these years, and they were clearly well-worn. She remembered what he had said while he was drunk that one night...That he only wore them when he felt lonely, or forgotten. She could feel tears forming in the corners of her eyes as she held the worn cotton fabric. She hated to think about how many times he's even worn them, or how often he still wears them to warrant all the damage that's been done on the pajamas. She felt anger bubbling in her stomach as her thoughts drifted to Anders' brothers. It was probably because of them that the pajamas were being used even more often than before. She always thought she'd make a much better sister to Anders than his own brothers. Hell, she practically became a sort of mother-figure to him through the years. And like a mother, she was fiercely protective over Anders no matter how much of a dick he could be. She had decided what she was going to do. She quickly folded the rest of the clothing and had put the old worn pajamas into her bag before walking out of the flat, locking the door behind her. She had a determined expression on her face when she entered her car.

A few hours later when Anders returned home, he was quick to notice the fact that Dawn had also cleaned up the load of laundry that he had thrown onto the couch 3 days ago after he had a shouting match with Mike over the phone before he finally hung up and ran off to get roaring drunk. He smiled at the kindness that Dawn did, he had no idea what he'd do without her. When he walked into his bedroom, he froze. Sitting in the middle of his bed were his checkered pajamas, carefully stitched back together as best as it could. Many of the holes were now gone, and the pant leg that was nearly torn in half was stitched together neatly. And next to the pajamas, there was a new pair of royal blue pajamas. He picked up the old worn pajamas, running his fingers along the new stitching that he knew Dawn must have done. Then he picked up the new ones, caressing the flannel fabric with a small grin on his face. He really could always count on Dawn. 

He sat on his bed, hugging both pairs of pajamas closely to his chest.


End file.
